Our Thoughts Create Our Perception of the World

As intelligent beings we believe that our brains know it all. They have built great cities, designed amazing gadgets and tackled some of the most incurable diseases. But, they do not always steer us in the right direction. How we experience our lives is largely determined by the stories that we tell ourselves about what is happening.

Consider this, one woman is offended and feels like she is being subjugated, while the other tells herself that she has the right to be treated well. The inciting event was a man held a door for these two women.

The experience that each woman had was very different. By deciding that she was being belittled and treated like a lesser human, the one woman felt offended when the man held the door. The other woman felt cared for.

Moments comprise our entire existence. How we feel in the majority of moments dictates our experience of life. Each of the women told themselves a story about the event. Neither was true. The only facts here are that a man opened a door and two ladies walked through. The interpretation is just the story that they told themselves. How they experienced this one moment in their lives was totally determined by the story that they told themselves about it.

It might not even end here. The woman that disliked the gesture might tell stories about it to her friends and think about how she should have responded. She might spend hours feeling like she had been slighted….This entire scenario speaks to how she feels. It is all created by her thoughts.

We have no way of knowing what the man was thinking. It may not have even registered that the other people were women. He may have just been closer to the handle and knew it would be easier to open the door and let the others through.

Take the time today to notice your thoughts. Are they true? Do they serve you? Do they cause you stress or unhappiness? Moments comprise our entire lives. Pay attention to how you are choosing to experience them.